In Re MAC

339 S.W.3d 781, 2011 WL 1519351
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 14, 2011
Docket11-09-00172-CV
StatusPublished

This text of 339 S.W.3d 781 (In Re MAC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re MAC, 339 S.W.3d 781, 2011 WL 1519351 (Tex. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

339 S.W.3d 781 (2011)

In the Matter of M.A.C., a Juvenile.

No. 11-09-00172-CV.

Court of Appeals of Texas, Eastland.

April 14, 2011.

*782 Mark H. Dettman, Midland, for appellant.

Teresa J. Clingman, Emily Shelton, Assistant, Jane L. Belazi, Assistant Dist. Atty's Office, Midland, for appellee.

Panel consists of: WRIGHT, C.J., McCALL, J., and STRANGE, J.

*783 OPINION

TERRY McCALL, Justice.

The jury found that M.A.C. engaged in delinquent conduct by committing the offenses of indecency with a child by contact and aggravated sexual assault of a child. The juvenile court[1] placed him on probation in the custody of the Texas Department of Family Protective Services until his eighteenth birthday. In two issues, M.A.C. contends that the juvenile court erred by admitting his recorded statement into evidence and by permitting a forensic interviewer to testify about the details of the victim's outcry. We overrule these contentions and affirm the judgment.

Background Facts

M.A.C. and the victim, J.M., resided in the same foster home in Midland in March 2009. M.A.C. was thirteen years old at the time, and J.M. was nine years old. One of the juveniles' foster parents, Austin Harris, testified that he and the youth in the foster home watched a movie in the main living area of the home on the evening of March 14, 2009. After the movie ended, he told all of the children that they needed to go to their respective bedrooms and get ready for bed. After a momentary absence, Mr. Harris returned to the main living area to adjust the thermostat for the home. He found M.A.C. and J.M. in the main living area with the lights turned off. J.M. said that she and M.A.C. were "just talking"; M.A.C. told Mr. Harris that he was looking for a pencil.

Mr. Harris reported his discovery to his wife, Linea Harris. Based on their suspicions, Mrs. Harris decided to question J.M. about the incident. She and Mr. Harris also questioned M.A.C. about the incident. M.A.C. told them that he had done "something very bad" in that he had touched J.M.'s breasts over her clothes. Mr. and Mrs. Harris subsequently reported the incident to their supervisors. Alexandra Arredondo, a former foster care case manager for the Buckner Home, testified that M.A.C. told her that he and J.M. touched each other under their shirts and that they were "humping" with their clothes on.

Andra K. Chamberlin, a forensic interviewer with the Midland Rape Crisis and Children's Advocacy Center, subsequently interviewed J.M. She testified that J.M. told her about three different incidents that had occurred with M.A.C. They included: (1) "humping" over clothes; (2) M.A.C. sucking on J.M.'s breasts and M.A.C. engaging in sexual intercourse with J.M.; and (3) another incident of "humping" over clothes when they were interrupted by Mr. Harris.

Detective Charles Sims of the Midland Police Department met with M.A.C. after Chamberlin interviewed J.M. Detective Sims subsequently transported M.A.C. to meet with Honorable Joe L. Matlock, Justice of the Peace, for the administration of magistrate warnings for the purpose of obtaining a recorded statement from M.A.C. Judge Matlock testified that Detective Sims was present when he administered the magistrate warnings to M.A.C. and that Detective Sims remained present during the time that Judge Matlock subsequently asked M.A.C. questions pertaining to the voluntariness of his statement.[2] Judge Matlock testified that he requested Detective Sims to remain present during the entire warning and interview process. Furthermore, Detective Sims testified that he was armed during this process and that his firearm was visible at all times.

*784 In the recorded statement, M.A.C. admitted that three incidents occurred with J.M. He stated that the first incident involved him accidently touching J.M. The second incident involved him touching and sucking J.M.'s breasts. He also stated that J.M. asked to see his penis and that he showed it to her, after which they engaged in skin-to-skin contact. He initially denied that any penetration occurred during this episode, but then he later stated that penetration may have occurred for thirty seconds.[3] The third incident he related pertained to the time that Mr. Harris caught him and J.M. in the main living area.

Admissibility of Recorded Statement

M.A.C. asserts in his first issue that the trial court erred in admitting his recorded statement into evidence. He contends that it was illegally obtained in violation of TEX. FAM.CODE ANN. § 51.095 (Vernon 2008). We note at the outset of our analysis that M.A.C. is not asserting that his statement was involuntary. See Martinez v. State, 131 S.W.3d 22, 35 (Tex. App.-San Antonio 2003, no pet.) (Due process may be violated by the admission of a confession that was not voluntarily given.). Instead, he contends that officials violated the procedural requirements of Section 51.095(a)(1)(B)(i).

We review a trial court's ruling on a motion to suppress the statement of a juvenile in an adjudication proceeding under the same abuse of discretion standard as a motion to suppress the statement of an adult in a criminal proceeding. See Balentine v. State, 71 S.W.3d 763, 768 (Tex.Crim.App.2002); In re J.A.B., 281 S.W.3d 62, 65 (Tex.App.-El Paso 2008, no pet.). When reviewing the trial court's ruling on a motion to suppress, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the trial court's ruling. State v. Iduarte, 268 S.W.3d 544, 548 (Tex.Crim.App.2008); In re J.A.B., 281 S.W.3d at 65. We uphold the trial court's ruling if it is supported by the record and correct under any theory of law applicable to the case. Iduarte, 268 S.W.3d at 548; In re J.A.B., 281 S.W.3d at 65. We give almost total deference to the trial court's rulings on questions of historical fact and application-of-law-to-fact questions that turn on an evaluation of credibility and demeanor. Johnson v. State, 68 S.W.3d 644, 652-53 (Tex.Crim.App.2002); Best v. State, 118 S.W.3d 857, 861-62 (Tex. App.-Fort Worth 2003, no pet.). However, we review de novo a trial court's rulings on application-of-law-to-fact questions that do not turn on the credibility and demeanor of witnesses. Johnson, 68 S.W.3d at 652-53.

M.A.C. contends that the provisions of Section 51.095(a)(1)(B)(i) were violated because Detective Sims was present during the entire warning and interview process and was armed during this process with his firearm visible at all times. Given Judge Matlock's testimony that he requested the presence of Detective Sims, we focus our attention to the presence of Detective Sims's weapon during the interview process. The critical inquiry is whether or not the weapon prohibition applied to the taking of M.A.C.'s recorded statement.

The State asserted at trial that the weapon prohibition of Section 51.095(a)(1)(B)(i) did not apply because M.A.C.'s statement was not the result of a custodial interrogation.[4]

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Related

Best v. State
118 S.W.3d 857 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2003)
Chapman v. State
150 S.W.3d 809 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2004)
State v. Iduarte
268 S.W.3d 544 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2008)
Broderick v. State
35 S.W.3d 67 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2000)
Garcia v. State
792 S.W.2d 88 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1990)
Balentine v. State
71 S.W.3d 763 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2002)
Martinez v. State
131 S.W.3d 22 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2003)
Johnson v. State
68 S.W.3d 644 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2002)
In the Matter of J.A.B., a Juvenile
281 S.W.3d 62 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2008)
in the Matter of M.A.C., a Juvenile
339 S.W.3d 781 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2011)
In re Z.L.B.
102 S.W.3d 120 (Texas Supreme Court, 2003)
In re J.G.
195 S.W.3d 161 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2006)

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Bluebook (online)
339 S.W.3d 781, 2011 WL 1519351, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-mac-texapp-2011.